OS X

If you want to edit photos like a pro, the term ‘Photoshop’ has become as synonymous with doing so as ‘Google’ is to searching the Internet for stuff. A new editor is on the horizon, though, and it’s pretty special. Affinity Photo is currently in beta, but packs a ton of Photoshop-y tools that pros and amateurs alike will find useful. It’s the same team behind another very useful Photoshop tool, Affinity Designer, and packs just as much punch for photo editing as Designer did for things like vector art.

While the big news surrounding the release of the developer preview of Apple's OS X 10.10.3 was about the new Photos app, there were a few other, less prominent changes, especially in regard to emoji. First up are organization changes to the emoji menu which make it easier to find and enter the character you want. Second is the hint of a more diverse line-up of emoji, including the possibility to customize the skin color of certain characters.

At launch, the 16GB option for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus seemed entirely too limited. If you were one of the anxious bunch who snapped up a new iPhone with the smaller memory option, or have an older one with a similarly svelte internal storage, we’ve got good news for you. A new app for your Mac can help clear up some space, and even tell you which apps might be soaking up more memory than you’d like. Even better, the app is free.

Now that iOS 8.1.3 is out, Apple also pushed an update for OS X Yosemite. Now at 10.10.2, Apple’s desktop update brings with it some bug fixes we’re happy to find. The update isn’t massive, but fixes a series of things users have been wanting Apple to fix for some time, now. Apple has addressed a WiFi bug that caused disconnections, and resolved a few issues with Safari; most notably one that caused webpages to load slowly. There is also an interesting new feature for iCloud Drive.

Google’s Project Zero has released more 0day vulnerabilities, and is this time aiming for Apple. Over the past few days, Project Zero has slowly released some exploits found in OS X Yosemite. The vulnerability exposure team at Google first provides their findings to the company in charge of the software. After that time, they’ve got 90 days to fix it before Google’s Project Zero team publishes it to the world. While Microsoft was responsive to Google’s release, Apple is much more tight-lipped.

Continuing on their quest to keep you organized everywhere you go, Any.Do has released an app for OS X. The app is their first for the desktop operating system from Apple, and closely mimics their mobile apps available on iOS and Android. With the app, you can create task lists for whatever you need to get done, and even share those tasks with colleagues, friends, or family. Attaching notes will find favor with desktop fans, but the story might be what the app lacks more than what it brings to your desktop.

Back in November of 2014, we first saw the face-blasting pixel-blood glory that was the first "sneak peek" at the game Strafe. Here in January of 2015, the Kickstarter has begun, and the glorious mix of old-school graphics and new-world humor has been revealed. Even if you have no interest in investing in a game before it's released, even if you're not planning on playing any gore-filled first person shooters any time soon, you absolutely must watch the "banned commercial" this group has created to push their product.

A designer by the name of Michelle Vandy has begun using her nose to do her job on her computer. Instead of using her arms, wrists, and fingers to tap into graphic design, she's rigged up a tripod, a stand, and an Apple Magic Trackpad to construct what may be the world's first "Nose-pad." Without the use of this Nose-pad, Vandy might otherwise have had to give up on design altogether, entering a different working field where she'd not have been able to use her talents to such a fine degree.

Google Drive might be the best cloud storage solution there is. It’s available anywhere, securely tucks your files away, and is free to use. For mobile, it’s amazing. For the desktop, Drive is fairly utilitarian, but that’s about to change. Today, Google is announcing a few changes to Drive for PC and Mac, which will give users more control and a new menu. The new-look drop-down menu provides updates on uploads, and even gives you access to recently synced items.

If you use Spotlight search in OS X Yosemite, we encourage you to stop and read this before you proceed. A glitch has been discovered that could give up sensitive info about your location without your knowledge. The info finds its way to hackers via spamming, where those who find themselves in your email box may then see their way to Spotlight search. In Spotlight, the email sender can gain access to your IP address as well as system details.